Skip to main content

Mitigating Risk from Environmental Change

Rising temperatures, extreme weather events and changes in water and air quality all pose a risk to Carolina’s campus. The Climate Resilience Committee, led by Chief Sustainability Officer Mike Piehler and Doctoral Candidate Ileana Fenwick seeks to mitigate these hazards.

By identifying risks, the group can propose solutions to the University’s greatest challenges. To accomplish this task, the group engages with campus leadership across all disciplines and levels.

Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill

Supporting Sustainable Carolina’s Efforts

The Climate Resilience Committee advances Sustainable Carolina’s mission of collaborating across operations, academics and research. The committee will help to:

  • Increase the adoption of renewable energy sources to meet a certain percentage of the campus’s energy needs.
  • Encourage the use of sustainable transportation options through infrastructure improvements and awareness campaigns.
  • Establish waste reduction goals and develop strategies to achieve them.
  • Educate the campus community about proper waste sorting and disposal to minimize landfill waste.

 

Recipe for a Resilient Campus

The Climate Resilience Committee works in three areas to improve campus resilience.

 

Environmental Scanning

What stressors exist on campus?

Temperature, weather patterns, air/water quality.

Vulnerable Processes

Who and what are at risk?

Health and wellness, supply chains and maintenance, facilities and operations.

Community Partners

What partners would be valuable?

University units, local businesses, governments, nonprofits.

 

 

Committee Chairs

Mike Piehler

Chief Sustainability Officer; Director, Sustainable Carolina
mpiehler@email.unc.edu

Ileana Fenwick

Doctoral Candidate

Committee Members

Abigail Brewer, Communications & Engagement Specialist, Sustainable Carolina

Melanie Elliott, Sustainability Analyst, Sustainable Carolina

Margot Francini, Senior, Environmental Health Sciences and Public Policy

Julie Jacobson Vann, Associate Professor & Sustainability Liaison, UNC School of Nursing

Steve Wall, Policy Research Associate, UNC Institute for the Environment

Cara Winstead, Clinical Instructor, UNC School of Nursing

Jessica Zégre-Hemsey, Associate Professor, UNC School of Nursing

 

Campus Resilience Highlights

 

Student researchers map heat on campus

Read

Students played a key role in testing for lead

Read

Carolina Tree Heritage program brings new life to downed tree

Read